Story ID: 321EBACE18
Aviaâ Brings Group Purchasing to Business Aviation
By: Ian Sheppard
Caption: Tech start-up, AVIAA, has developed software that allows group purchasing to be used in business aviation for the first time.
Word Count: 315

Start-up firm Aviaâ (Static SD05) claims to have become the first to enable group purchasing in business aviation, potentially leading to significant savings for aircraft owners and operators. The UK-based company claims to have pioneered predictive analytics software that will “bring the benefits of the group purchasing organization [GPO] model the business aviation industry.”

Aviaâ was founded by Dustin Dryden—the founder of Hangar8, which was sold to Gama Aviation in early 2015—and Jim Hall, who has experience forming GPOs in the healthcare sector. It claims to have “streamlined the procurement process for owners and operators using the ‘collective’ buying power of its members to secure the best rates for…fuel, insurance, training, MRO and FBO services, aircraft and engine parts, avionics upgrades, and more.”

The company collects historic and forecast spend data from customers and “shares it with their preferred suppliers,” making group buying possible and the purchasing of each more efficient. CEO Gillian Hayes said, “I find that often companies will spend large amounts of money and time conducting their own research, when researchers have already published everything we need on the same subject. Our team can quickly access the research that is already out there.”

According to Hall, “There are many similarities between healthcare and business aviation. Both are highly fragmented industries dominated by big players, which can make it challenging to compete. We will work with suppliers to help members reduce their friction costs [commissions, fees, interest rates, research time]. A typical example would be flight training, where we would look at where there are spare hours on a flight simulator, maximizing the situation for both parties.”

In addition to its base at London Oxford Airport, the company has two new offices—in Irvine, California, and Park City, Utah—to serve the U.S. market.

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